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Biggest political comebacks

Who says there are no second chances? Take a look at some of the biggest comebacks in U.S. political history.

Eliot Spitzer. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace in 2008 amid revelations he had patronized prostitutes. Spitzer returned to public view in June 2010 as co-host of 'In the Arena,' a political talk show on CNN and continues to write a column for online magazine Slate and teach a course at the City College of New York. He launched a bid in July to become the comptroller of New York City

Anthony Weiner: The former congressman, who resigned in 2011 amid a scandal over his lewd online behavior, announced in May 2013 that he's running for NYC mayor because "it's now or maybe never for me."

President Bill Clinton.Allegations of sexual misconduct dogged former U.S. President Bill Clinton throughout his career. Since leaving office in 2001, Clinton established a foundation to improve global health and strengthen economies worldwide. He also has received nearly two dozen honorary degrees and a series of accolades, including the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding and the 2007 TED prize.

President Richard Nixon. In 1960, Nixon lost his campaign for president and then, two years later, his campaign for governor of California. But four years later, Nixon sought the Republican presidential nomination. He went on win the presidency in 1968, cementing one of the greatest comebacks in U.S. political history.

Hillary Clinton. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's long-planned 2008 presidential bid became derailed when she finished third in the Iowa caucus behind then-Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards. Clinton went on to serve as Secretary of State in the Obama administration. In 2011, she was the most admired living woman for a record 16 years in a row, according to a Gallup poll.

Newt Gingrich. In 1994, Gingrich co-authored the GOP 'Contract with America' and led his party to majority control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Four years later, Gingrich resigned from Congress amid a historic loss of seats and a challenge to his leadership from within his party. He was recently a top-tier candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

President Abraham Lincoln. In 1854, Lincoln ran for U.S. Senate and lost. In 1856, he again ran again for Senate and lost. But in 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide in 1864, after leading the Union to victory in the Civil War.

George Wallace. As governor of Alabama, George Wallace symbolized racism in the South. In 1972, he was shot five times while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination and becoming paralyzed from the waist down. In the late 1970s, Wallace announced that he became a born-again Christian, and apologized to African-American leaders for his earlier segregationist positions. In his final term as governor, he appointed a record number of black candidates to government positions.

Mitt Romney. In 1994, Romney challenged U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the liberal lion who had served in the Senate since 1962, but lost. Romney later took over the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, before becoming Massachusetts governor in 2002 and the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.

Mark Sanford. After his whereabouts were unknown for several days, Sanford admitted in a tearful news conference that he had affair with a woman from Argentina. He resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association and he and his wife eventually divorced. In May 2013, Sanford won a special election to fill a vacant House seat that he once occupied.